


From Dark to Light

by SpartaLazor



Category: Halo, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-20
Updated: 2014-01-22
Packaged: 2017-12-27 03:38:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/973858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpartaLazor/pseuds/SpartaLazor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin Skywalker gave his life to protect Luke from the Emperor, and thought that it was all over. When he is given the option of a new life in a different world, he doesn't hesistate to take it. Set post ROTJ and in the middle of Halo 4.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nothing.

Death.

Silence.

Emptyness.

Anakin Skywalker felt all of these things. His conscience was trapped in the netherworld of the Force, and fading slowly away. Within an hour, he would be completely gone.

His mind wandered back to his last minutes alive, as his son had dragged him through the exploding Death Star, after Anakin had sacrificed himself to save him from the Emperor. A small smile crept across his face, despite the fact that he had no face that he could tell, and was glad that after all he had done to the galaxy, he had been able to end the nightmare in the end.

He sighed, growing tired of the void he was in. There was nothing, and he waited for his thoughts and feelings to fade, and for him to pass out of exsistance.

But then, a glimmer of light. A glimmer of hope. He stared in awe and silence as the white light grew and grew, changing shape into the form of a woman. She had long white hair, that seemed to flow into eternity. Her eyes were orbs of bright white light, and her skin was a glowing pale white. She had no clothes, but Anakin wasn't focused on that.

"Who are you?" he asked, almost feeling his eyes burning from the intense light. But then again, he had no eyes, at least, not anymore.

The woman smiled slightly. "I have been with you most of your life, you have depended on me more times than you can remember, and yet you don't know who I am?" Her voice was angelic, sounding like a heavenly chorus in the middle of this nothingness.

Anakin thought for a minute. "I've never seen you before," he replied trying to think back the best he could with his mind slipping away into oblivion.

"Anakin Skywalker," she said, closing her eyes. "I am the Force. I had chosen this method of communication to offer you a second chance. After you fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One, it seem to me to be a waste to let you fade off into non-exsistance."

Dumbfounded, Anakin tried to piece together what she had just said. "Your giving me a second chance? After all I did?"

"When people die, they come here, and I judge them for what they have done in their lives, and then decide what to do with them," the Force said, calmly floating in the darkness. "I have deemed you worthy of another life."

Anakin's mind, what was left of it, was racing, thinking about all that he could do with a new life. He could be with Luke and Leia, attempt to atone for his sins by helping rebuild the Republic, to reestablish the Jedi Order, to-

"However, there will be a slight catch."

Releasing a deep breath, Anakin groaned. "Of course there would be."

"You won't be taken back to the world that you came from," the Force told him. "You will be put into another world, as a test to make sure that I have made the right decision. Once you either pass or fail, then I'll decide whether or not to return you to your world." She paused, letting that sink in. "Do you accept?"

"I accept," he replied instantly. "But before I go, what happened to Padme? Where did she go?"

The Force smiled, raising her hands as white light surrounded them. "That is for me to know, and me only."

Then...

Whiteness.


	2. In the Jungle

PFC Jared Richards leaned back against a tree, breathing deeply. He checked his BR85, seeing that he only had one full clip left, which wouldn't be enough to take on more than a few Covenant infantry.

He was enlisted aboard the UNSC Infinity, and now was stuck on this Forerunner shield world. Captain Del Rio had flown into the metal planet after receiving a distress beacon from a UNSC frigate, and had gotten the entire ship crashed landed.

Sharp burst of Sangheili chatter snapped him out of his thoughts, and he was off running again, trying to escape the grasps of the small group of elites hunting him down after they had massacred his squad. Somethings hadn't changed after the war ended; elites could still put up quite a fight against human squads.

"Almost there," he muttered, glancing up at the large ship in front of him. The Infinity was only roughly three hundred meters more, so close and yet so far. Jared fumbled for his canteen, bringing it up to his trembling lips. This was his first combat mission, and getting killed by elites wasn't how he wanted his career to start.

Jared's helmet radio had be shot, fortunately, he wasn't wearing the headgear at the time. But he couldn't get word out that he needed help. Screwing the lid back on the canteen, he took off again, grunting as he felt the burning in his legs.

Then he saw the marine several yards in front of him, walking toward the Infinity with his rifle in one hand. "Hey!" Jared called out. "They're after me! You need to help me!"

The man turned, slightly confused look on his face. "Who's after you?" As Jared ran up, he saw the man's long brown hair, brown eyes, and the scar that went over his eye.

"The Covenant," he answered, panting. "Who else?" As if to puncuate his sentence, a particle beam flew by his head, missing by several inches, and burning a hole in a nearby tree. "You have to help me!"

The man looked down at his rifle, and shrugged. "Do you want me to talk to them and see if I can't sort this whole thing out?"

"What? Now's not the time to joke," Jared exclaimed. "Now's the time to run!" The elites had come into view in the not-so-far distance, raising their weapons. "Run!" He took off running, leaving the man behind him. Shooting a glance back he saw that the man hesistated, and the came running up next to him, effortlessly matching his pace.

"We make it back to the ship, we're safe," Jared said, stating the obvious. "We can get some needed rest." Just as he said that, he tripped over a root jutting out of the ground. Jared rolled several feet before coming to a stop, wincing and holding his ankle. "Shit, please, don't let them kill me," he pleaded, "please don't let me die."

Anakin looked down at the man, watching as he writhed in pain. He honestly didn't have much of an idea of what was going on around here, since he was new to this whole world, so he calmly nodded. "I'll do what I can."

The wounded marine looked up at him, eyes widening as he saw the elites coming up on them. There were three of them, two minors and a major. Anakin took a deep breath, and turned to face them.

The red-clad major barked something to the other two, and they chuckled, lowering their weapons. Reaching down to his hip, the major produced a dumbell shaped object, and flicked his wrist, activating twin plasma blades. He took a step torward Anakin, daring him to try something.

Anakin waved his hand. "You're tired."

The major stopped, and blinked a few times. "I am tired," he said aloud in broken English.

"You want to go back to where you came from, and take a nice, long nap."

"I will go back to camp and rest." At this the two minors yapped in Sangheili, questioning their leader.

"You and your thugs will forget that you ever saw us."

The major yawned and deactivated his energy sword. "We never saw two humans..." his voice trailed off, and he turned back to the minors, issuing the order to return to camp.

While they were arguing, Anakin help the wounded man stand up, and threw the marine's arm over his shoulder. "Let's get that rest, shall we?" Jared stared at him in complete shock, his mind trying to wrap around what happened.

They had only gone a few yards when gunfire erupted nearby, and three armored beings ran out of cover, guns blazing. Anakin had his own rifle in his free hand, somewhat certain that he knew how to use it, after all, it wasn't that much different from a blaster.

The armored humans wore heavy steel armor, covering up most of their bodies with the gray metal. Their helmets had blue visors, and they each seemed to be of some sort of command, ordering the other non-armored humans around them.

One looked over and saw them, and pointed, shouting something to another. She nodded, and ran over, putting her rifle on her back. Up close, she seemed a lot taller than most of the women of the human species that Anakin had met. "We have a warthog almost ready to head back to the ship with wounded," she explained, picking up Jared and putting him over her shoulder. "You two can be the last ones on if you hurry."

Anakin nodded, noting that the wounded marine still hadn't said anything, compleletly in shock. "I can stay here if you want me to. I'm not injured." The soldiers in the background shouted, pointing at the sky. Purple aircraft flew over head, raining blue bolts of white hot plasma down on them.

"Banshees!" someone shouted, diving under a fallen tree for cover. The armored human holding the wounded marine shook her head. "No, we have this place under control," she tilted her head to a drab green four-wheeled vehicle nearby. "They're almost ready to leave."

She sprinted over, placing Jared in the back the warthog, where a few other wounded people, with bandages tightly wrapped around various parts of their bodies, pulled him in, and situated him so he could have some space.

Anakin sprinted over, noting that the passenger seat was open. He climbed in, and the driver started the engine. Anakin almost laughed as he thought of how primitve this vehicle was. He was expecting repulsorlifts or something other than wheels. The Warthog lurched forward, and they were off.


	3. Chapter 3

**_UNSC Cairo Station in orbit above Earth_ **

**_October 22, 2557_ **

"So, Admiral Hood," the man said, folding his arms behind his back. "Have you thought about what I said?" The man was dressed in a white navy uniform, with several medals and other awards on it. He was old, with white hair and an equally white beard.

"Admiral, we couldn't take a risk like that," another officer protested. "We need the Infinity to pull that off."

The first man waved his hand. "Nonsense. I can take care of it without that ship." He held up three fingers. "All I need are three warships. No more."

An officer scoffed. "You can't be serious. It would take at least a hundred ships to do it." He stood up from his chair at the press conference table, and glared at the first man, who somehow managed to keep his cool. "You don't even know that the Covenant are trying to regroup around the brutes. That's just a hunch."

Admiral Hood calmly watched as the conversation grew more intense.

"I know far more than you do," the first man said, turning his head to Hood. "And I believe that I can easily replace our Terrance Hood, who has yet to prove himself of any worth to me."

Hood stood up. "It doesn't matter what you think. The Infinity dropped out of contact, and you want to attack a growing Covenant fleet that might not even exsist." He pushed a button on the table, and three ODST's opened the door, DMRs in hand. "Please escort him out of here," Hood ordered, pointing at the man.

"I am afraid that's out of the question now," the man said, rasing his hands toward the ODSTs, fingers arched downward. Bolts of blue lightning shot out of his fingertips, striking the lead ODST.

He screamed out in pain as he withered to the ground, body smoking. His helmet systems had been fried, along with all the other eletronic equipment on him. The ODST stopped scream, and stopped moving, remaining on the ground, dead.

"What in the hell?" One of the other two ODSTs shouted, as the two of them raised their rifles, and opened fire. None of the shots even seemed to hit the man, as he unleashed yet another wave of lightning, which split into separate arches, hitting both of them at the same time.

They both fell, following the same fate that their comerade had suffered. Smiling, the man turned to the frightened officers, and Admiral Hood, who didn't appear even the slightest bit amused.

"I believe that I will be put in charge of the UNSC now," the man said. "Unless there is someone who is against me." No one dared to say even a single word.

"What the hell are you?" the same officer from last time asked.

Chuckling, the man turned toward the window that over looked Earth. "You may call me Darth Tyrannus, your master."

_**UNSC Infinity, crashed landed on Requiem** _

_**October 22, 2557** _

Anakin's mouth hung open in awe as he stared around the interior of the Infinity. He had been on several cruiser, both Republic and Separtisist in his lifetime, but nothing as amazing as this.

The vehicle bay itself was neary twice as large as any Imperial Star Destroyer's hanger was, expect for the Executor. People were everywhere, some moving their friends to the medics, some sitting on crates, causually smoking. Others were working on vehicles that appeared to be damaged.

There was one vehicle in particular that caught Anakin's attention. It was a tan color, matching every other in there. There was a pilot seat in the front, and a copilot behind that. Two large winges on each side, with thrusters on them, and two thrusters in the back. Guessing by the troop hatch in the back, Anakin figured that it was a troop transport vehicle.

He walked over, inspecting every angle of it, seeing how it worked. "Need help?" he asked the engineer working on the side of the ship.

"Maybe," he replied. "Covvies hit this Pelican pretty hard. You know anything about machines?"

"Some," Anakin answered, crouching down to look at the part of the ship that had been hit. Cords and wires jutted from a melted hole just below the pilot's seat. It looked like a giant bowl of spaghetti in there. "What's wrong with it?"

The engineer raised the brim of his oil coated hat with his wrench. "Those wires are what connect the gun to the controls in here," he explained, stepping up on a footstep and leaning into the pilot seat. He squeezed the trigger on the joystick controls. "See nothing. And before you ask, it's unloaded, I'm trying to get the barrel to spin around."

"Hm..." Anakin stared at the wires, willing for something to come his mind. It had to be more complicated than crossing some wires, right? But still, Anakin reached into the sea of wires, randomly selecting a red and another red cable. He tied the copper ends together. "Try that."

Pulling the trigger again, the engineer heard a whirring sound, and looked down to see the barrel of the machine gun spinning under the pilot's seat. "Hey, you're not that bad kid," he said, slapping Anakin on the back. "How'd you do it?"

"I simply reconnected two wires."

The engineer stared at him. "Do you know that if you grabbed the wrong ones, you could've accidently made me fire off a missle? Or activate the Pelican's self-destruct?"

"These things self-destruct?" A new voice said, walking over. It was another marine, and she was decked out in her field gear. Behind her were seven more marines, each carrying the maximum amout of equipment they could. Their backs were loaded with weapons, and a few of them looked like they were about to fall down.

Sighing, the engineer threw up his arms. "Okay, so they don't blow themselves up," he admitted. "I was just trying to teach this youngster to be careful. But I still fixed your bird."

"Perfect timing, Dominic," the marine replied. "We've just been assigned to an op." She turned to Anakin. "You the pilot?"

"I've flown a quite a bit. I think I can handle it," he said, glacing up at the pilot seat. "Looks easy."

"Eh, good enough for me," the marine said. "All right, git on board, wait for the green light from Captain Del Rio. We're going into the jungle on a search-and-rescue op," she told her team. "It seems the famous Mason Winder was escorting Commander Lasky, aided by Palmer and some of her Spartans," she said the word with disgust, "and got themselves lost. We're going in to find them."

The other marines quietly walked into the wide open back hatch of the Pelican, and situated themselves, setting some of their heavy gear down.

The leader looked back at Anakin. "I'm Sergeant Samantha Bailey by the way. You gotta spare clip?" She asked, tapping the black rifle in her hand.

Anakin shrugged. "I don't know." He began looking over his armor, searching for something that looked like it went with that gun. He opened a pouch on his thigh, and nearly did a double take.

A silver, cylinder-like object was resting in there all alone. His lightsaber. The same one that he had last seen on Bespin when he chopped off Luke's hand. He tried to get some Imperial search teams to find it, but they couldn't locate the weapon.

After snapping back to reality, he shook his head. "Sorry."

"Forget it," Samantha said. "I can get on out of Goliath. Get this thing ready for lift off, and I'll let you know when we're ready for take off." She ran around to the back, and climbed in.

Anakin released a deep breath. He knew he had gotten himself in farther than he had hoped. All he wanted was a time to rest and collect his thoughts. Something inside of him returned. A feeling he hadn't felt in a while. The feeling of excitement, one that he usually got before some giant Clone Wars escapade with Obi-Wan.

He removed the helmet on his head as he climbed into the pilot seat, prefering to rely on himself and the Force rather than other devices. As he glanced around the controls, he noticed that there really wasn't much difference from the ships he'd flown. Most of the buttons were in the same place, and some even looked identical.

"All right, let's get this show on the road," Samantha ordered over her comms, which came through on the dashboard radio. Anakin punched a button, and the engines roared to life. Pressing another button, he closed the canopy over his head, and it sealed with an airtight hiss.

A blue diamond appeared on a screen to the left. "This was their last known location. Chances are they split up or got separated," Samantha explained. "All I know is that there are Covies down there, and I've heard some rumored reports of something else."

There was some laughter. "Hey, don't get all supersitionous with us, sarge," someone said. "There ain't no ghosts down there." There was some more laughter.

"I never said ghosts, dumbass," Samantha snapped. "Hey pilot! Let's go, we're burning daylight!"

Groaning, Anakin pressed down on the throttle, and the Pelican lurched forward, scaping against the floor and leaving a trail of sparks as it flew out of the starship. Major cursing came over the radio.

"Real smooth," Samantha remarked. "I might be regretting this."

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Anakin replied, manuvering the Pelican towards the waypoint. "I've flown quite a few ships in my time."

"Sure, whatever," Samantha said. She continued to address her team. "This is the last transmisson that came from Winders."

Anakin could hear the recording in the pilot seat, since everything that was said in the troop hatch could be heard over the radio.

This is Mason Winders, we're pinned down just out side of a Forerunner complex. Seems to be some sort of AI troops that are native to the planet, and don't really take intruders nicely, although they seem to be assisting the Covenant.

Anakin couldn't help but notice that the voice seemed calm, and actaully familiar.

Requesting assistance, please respond, over.

That's where it ended. Skywalker's mind was racing, trying to remember where he's heard that voice. It sounded like...oh God. It couldn't be. But it was.


	4. Awkwardness

Awkwardness

Requiem Jungles

October 22, 2557

The Pelican tore through the air, reaching its top speed. Anakin was pushing the buttons that he didn't recognize, trying to figure out all the bird could do. He managed, being the great pilot that he was, but it was still somewhat new to him.

"How far are we from the drop zone?" Samantha asked over the comms. "We getting a little anxious back here."

"About a minute out," Anakin replied, checking the computers in front of him.

"Allright, check you jetpacks," Samantha ordered her troops. "Get the hatch open, pilot."

Anakin reached for the red button to the left of the joystick controls. The hatch slowly lowered, and the marines began looking over the jetpacks strapped to each other's back, making sure that their friends wouldn't go plummenting to their deaths.

Samantha jogged over to the very edge of the hatch, somehow managing to stay on at the high speed of the Pelican. "On my mark." The rest of the marines gathered around, preparing to jump.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Mark!" They jumped. "We're away, pilot. Stay in the air and keep an eye out for Covies," Samantha ordered. "You're the heavy weapons here."

Anakin shrugged, figuring that he had nothing better to do. "Fine. Outta curiousity, what'd you guys do to tick this Covenant off?"

There was a dead silence. "They started this whole war, pilot. I'm sure that you know that they've been glassing our planets for decades, right?" Samantha asked, voice filled with confusion.

"Oh, yeah," Anakin said, awkwardly. "I knew that."

"Sure." There was a thud over the comms. "We're down on the ground, beginning our search operation."

Anakin nodded, despite the fact that no one could see him. "I'll keep you covered from the air." He quickly cut the comms before Samantha couldn't bring up the whole thing about what he had said about the Covenant.

He flew in silence, calmly manuvering the ship around in the air, keeping track of the marines from their small green diamonds on the computer's screen, which showed the view from the cockpit.

A purple aircraft rose from the jungle canopy, firing red and purple plasma bolts at the Pelican.

"Great," Anakin muttered, bringing the chaingun online. There was an option for autotargeting, but Anakin ignored it, instead reaching out with the Force to guide his aim. He squeezed the trigger, unleashing a hail of bullets onto the Covenant Phantom.

Ninety percent of the bullets hit the front, punching holes into the area where the driver sat. The Phantom began to waver, smoke billowing from the holes. Another round of gunfire made the cockpit explode, and the Phantom spun in as hit fell to the ground, purple and blue fire erupting and catching the nearby trees on fire.

Anakin released a tense breath, even though he had no doubt that he would've beaten the ship. He didn't get to relax for long, as Samantha overrode his comms. "Why the hell did you turn them off?" she practically screamed into his ear. "We need to communitcate! There's a Lich coming straight for you!"

"What's a-" He was cut off by the green plasma beam that impacted on the side of the ship, which caused further damage when the ammunitions storage exploded, completely shredding the troop hatch.

The warning lights and alarms were going haywire in the cockpit, and Anakin tried to keep control, but the Pelican was to damaged. The cockpit canopy was jammed, trapping Anakin inside of the burning dropship.

He fought the glass shield preventing his escape, trying to keep his focus. The controls had sparked and burst into flames, and it reminded him of his experience on Mustafar. He didn't really want a repeat.

Static bursts flooded the comms, which were amazingly still operation. Anakin could make out the words that were being said, and the more he fought, the more it seemed hopeless. Then the canopy shattered when the Pelican crashed into the ground, and he was able to crawl out.

Running from the flaming ship, he heard the alien speech of the Covenant, and took deep breaths, calming himself and allowing him to focus and reach out with the Force to locate the aliens.

Four were coming from the left, seven from the right, and ten straight in the middle. Anakin groaned, and began limping farther into the jungle, trying to out run the Covenant. His hand slowly reached into his pouch, and he drew out his lightsaber hilt. "Only for emergencies," he muttered, leaning against a tree to rest. His leg was bleeding quite a bit, probably far more than it should ever have been. He tried to keep quiet, but fell into a cough fit from smoke inhalation.

A sharp crack erupted, followed by a second, third and fourth. Anakin saw a marine running the distance, escaping the large scale forest fire that had ensued from the Pelican's crashing. The man was holding a long rifle with a scope, which Anakin could compare to the sniper rifles that clones and stormtroopers had used.

The marine was sprinting towards him, managing to avoid all the blue plasma that flew in his direction. Firing from the hip as he ran, the marine managed to make all four bullets hit their targets, which was nearly an impossiblity. The man reloaded with reflexes that were far to fast for any normal person.

"Move!" he ordered as he ran past Anakin, who was staring at him intently, before limping after him. The marine jumped over a fallen log, and fired four more times, taking out four more elites.

"Come on!" the marine shouted, glancing back at Anakin. Then he realized the condition that Anakin's left leg was in. "Shit," he cursed, running over and throwing Anakin's arm over his shoulder, and helping him get away from the flaming forest.

With his rifle supported in one hand, the marine guided Anakin through the forest, taking out a group of five grunts, managing to kill two with one shot. "There's a cave," the marine said, "we can take cover there until this fire dies down."

That confused Anakin, even though he was hacking up a lung, he still heard the sentence. "Isn't a cave the last place you want to be trapped in during a fire?" he asked, in between coughs.

"This is different," the marine replied. Anakin tried to see his face, but it the marine was wearing a full helmet with a tinted visor, blocking anyone from seeing in.

The marine dragged him into the cave, where there were piles of UNSC gear. He set Anakin down, using a backpack as a pillow, while he rummaged through the medical supplies bag. "This might hurt a little bit," he said, pulling out a spray-can of something.

Anakin wasn't expecting the stuff to hurt as badly as it did, and he cried out, squeezing his lightsaber hilt. The marine hadn't seen it yet, or so Anakin assumed. A few seconds later, he calmed down, and settled into a state of relaxation, using the Force to keep him calm.

"You're a mess," the marine pointed out, removing his helmet. Anakin froze when he saw the face. "You have soot all over your face." the marine handed him a canteen. "Wash up. You want to look good for the rescue deployment." He paused, catching Anakin's glare. "My God," Mace Windu muttered. "Skywalker."


	5. What You Will

 

**UNSC Marathon-Class Crusier _Perpetual Darkness_**

**October 23, 2557**

Marines stood at attention in the hanger, none of them daring to move. Their sergeants were pacing back and forth, inspecting the troops. "Our new Fleet Admiral is coming on board for an offical inspection," the captain said, standing on top of a Scorpion Tank's tread. "I want everyone in top shape for Admiral Tyrannus."

"Sir yes sir!"

"Put your quarters in order,  shine you boots, and clean you guns," he continued. "Then report here. Am I clear?"

"Sir yes sir!"

Before the captian could dismiss them, a Pelican flew through the shields. After turning in 360 degrees, it lowered to the ground, with the cockpit facing the way they had come in. The troop hatch lowered, and several Spartan IVs, clad in gray recruit armor accented with yellow stripes, exited and took up defensive positons around the Pelican.

Two more Spartans, each clad in white EVA armor stepped out, DMRs in hand. A third figure flanked them, hands clasped behind his back. The captain ran over, snapping into a salute as he reached Dooku.

"I had no idea you were coming so soon, sir," he apologized. "We aren't really prepared for an inspection yet."

"Are the weapon systems active and in full working order?" Dooku asked, his eyes darted over the marines in the hanger. His loyal troops, who would follow his order to the very end.

"Yes sir, but that's-"

"That's all I need to know," Dooku informed him. "Get your troops ready for an assault on a Covenant fleet. They apparently are building a super weapon somewhere near the remains of Alpha Halo."

The captain blinked. "A superweapon?" There was a murmur of confusing amongst the marines. "I assume we're going to take it out."

"No," Dooku replied, more hastily than he had wanted. "We're going to capture it, and use it as our own." He began walking forward, motioning for the captian to follow him. "What they are building is far more powerful than the entire Halo array. This weapon has the power to destroy entire planets."

The captian was struggling to understand it all. "The Covenant can't have that kind of technology, sir. Doing something like that is impossible."

Dooku chuckled. "You have much to learn." He paused, listening to the ringing silence in the hall around them. "Back to the matter at hand. The Covenant cannot finish the weapon, since they lack a vital piece of the weapon. A focusing crystal."

"You seem to know alot about their superweapon," the captain blurted out. "I'm guessing that you've been stepping up our intel agents since Hood retired?" He had made the mistake of speaking his thoughts, and tried to save himself. For some reason, everyone feared Admiral Tyrannus.

"I guess you could say something like that," Dooku said, even though he saw right through the lie. He knew that the captain was getting suspicious. He also knew that the captain knew that getting suspicious can get you killed. "Dismissed."

They both saluted, and the captain hurried off, heading for his quarters.

Dooku gazed out the window, and watched the other battleships as they made final preparations for the attack on the Covenant fleet. There was only one thing that they needed. The UNSC Infinity.

**Requiem's Jungles**

**October 23, 2557**

"I said that I was sorry, and that I have changed since then," Anakin called out as he followed Mace Windu into the thick woods. He was limping, supporting himself on a broken off tree limb, while Mace kept a decent pace ahead of him.

"It's hard to accept an apology from the person who killed you, for killing you," Mace called back. "I'm honestly resisting the urge to get revenge, Skywalker." His helmet was tucked under one arm, and his facial features exposed. He was older than when Anakin had gotten him killed, and there was white stubble across his chin.

"Jedi don't seek revenge," Anakin reminded him, wincing as he applied too much pressure on his wounded foot.

"The Jedi are dead," Mace reminded him. "But I get the feeling that you already know that." He stopped for a minute, and looked back at Anakin, who was still struggling to keep up. In the back ground, white smoke rose from the forest, where the fire had claimed many acres and lives. "But still, you're right. Although I still don't forgive you."

Anakin shook his head. "I didn't expect you to," he honestly said. "I should be forced to live with all that I have done."

Mace shrugged. "Yes, you should. Honestly, thought, I never thought that you'd be given a second chance, like me."

"Does this happen to everyone?" Anakin asked, as they resumed walking back to the crashed ship. "I mean, you're the only person that I've met in the same boat that I'm in."

"I don't know all the answers, Skywalker. But what I do know, is that we're the lucky ones. We still are the same species were when we were killed. Others that come here, I'm assuming that they can end up as anything. I once sensed a Force-sensitive cow."

Anakin sighed. "I probably killed that Jedi. What's a cow?"

"Forget it," Mace said. "How did you end up here?"

"I met the Force, and she said that she was giving me a second chance, that's pretty much it."

Mace nodded. "Same here. But what we met was most likely the light side. The dark side might even work the same for the Sith, giving them other lives. Maybe even for someone like Count Dooku, who was once a Jedi, perhaps both of his halves were given a new life each."

"What?"

"When a Jedi turns, their light side dies, and the dark side is born," Mace explained. "Perhaps the light side gave his good half a new life, and dark side did the same for the other half."

Anakin groaned and leaned against a tree trunk. "That's really what I needed to hear."

"I wouldn't stress over it, Skywalker," Mace said. "After all, it is just a theory. Mainly a collection of thoughts put together with the three other Jedi that I found. We're holed up on a planet that is reffered to as Earth. First chance we get, I'm taking you there."

"Even after what I've done to the Jedi? What if I'm the one that killed them?"

"They'll understand." Mace pointed at the Infinity, crashed down far in front of them. "Another half mile." They started walking again. "I'm not offering you this chance because I want to. Right now, we need all the former Jedi that we can get to figure a way back."

"Who are these Jedi?" Anakin asked.

"Master Luminara, who for some reason took up the form of a Kig-Yar, Ki-Adi-Mundi, who is an Elite, and Master Kenobi, perhaps the only one that will actually feel sympathy for you."

Anakin's attention was caught. "Obi-Wan? He's here too?"

Mace nodded. "I don't know how this whole new life thing works, so there could be many more Jedi than we know out there. We've begun several campaigns to find more, often posing as pyschics on internet videos, hoping that someone will recognize us, and contact us. Nothing so far."

"What about non-Jedis?"

"Skywalker, I know what you're hinting at, but I don't know. There's no way to tell is she's here." Mace sighed. "If you want my opinion, I'd doubt it, since the Force is what brought us here."

"Okay, then" Anakin said, changing the topic, hiding his feelings. "Then what about the Emperor? Could the dark side give him a new life?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. That crazy son of a bitch has ways of doing things most Jedi consider impossible."

"What could he possibly come back as, if he did get a new life?"

They reached a clearing that overlooked the Infinity. Mace Windu looked up at the strange metal ball that was scanning the ship, taking data and the like. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "Skywalker, I really would hate to think that way."


	6. Chapter 6

Gypsy Company

New York City, Earth  
October 23rd, 2557, 9:12pm

The door to the penthouse suite opened, and the hooded man walked in, carrying brown paper bags in each arm. "I'm back," he announced, setting the bags down on the counter in the kitchen.

The Sangheili and Kig-Yar in the room just looked up at him, and then back at the televison. They were sitting side by side on the sofa. "It's about time," the Sangheili muttered, resting his head on his hand. The Kig-Yar nodded, and sighed, leaning back on the couch.

The man pulled the hood off of his head, revealing his identity to be none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I guess that means that we still haven't located any others?"  
The Kig-Yar, Luminara, scoffed. "Worse. Look." She pointed a claw at the TV. "Apparently, Hood was replaced as Fleet Admiral."

On screen, there was a man in a white dress uniform, and he was going through the last of the induction ceremonies. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed when he recognized the man. "How did Dooku become the new Admiral? He can start a whole new Empire if he wanted."

The Sangheili, Ki-Adi-Mundi, stood up and stretched. "As one of the main figures in the Human-Sangheili relations, I will protest this. However, I'm sure that he would know who I am, and will act upon it."

"Not if you were to openly protest at a public meeting. A televised one," Obi-Wan mused. "He wouldn't use his power right out in the public, since other people will begin to think he's not human, and want him out."

"But," Luminara argued, "his power's might intimidate the people into letting him stay in power."

She was right. Obi-Wan sighed and rubbed his chin. "Well, then it looks like if that were to happen, then someone would need to show the public that he isn't the only one with power, and that they can be used for good."

Mundi blinked. "So, you say that we should confront Dooku in public? Expose ourselves, and take him on?" He began pacing around the room. "It guess there's a slim chance that it might work. If it all goes wrong, then ONI will be all over us, taking us away to study us."

"That won't happen," Obi-Wan said. "We can over power them. I'm sure they have nothing to counter the Force," he reached into his hoodie pocket and withdrew a tubular object, "or lightsabers."

"There's going to be a press conference tomorrow," Luminara informed them, reading the text off of the TV. "The public is welcome so they can meet Fleet Admiral Tyrannus." She stood up, and retrieved her lightsaber off of the coffee table. "I guess we're going to be there?"

"Exactly." Obi-Wan returned his weapon to the pocket. "When do we need to leave?"

Luminara closed her eyes, and did some mental math. "We'd need to leave now if we want to get there in the middle of it."

"Then let's hit the road."

\-------------------------------------------

Requiem  
October 23rd, 2557, 5:43am

There was a dead silence in the Pelican, with everyone looking at the green armored being standing in the middle of the troop bay. From what Anakin had gathered from other Marines, mostly Mace, this was the legendary Master Chief. 

He had gone missing in 2553, and now, in 2557, he had been recovered. His drab green armor was covered in scratches and plasma burns, and there was a large gash on one side of his chest plate.

Anakin, who was going under the name Alan Kinsky Walker since Anakin Skywalker seemed like a too outlandish name, and Mace were assigned to Mammoth Company Gypsy after the returned to the Infinity.

Captain Del Rio appeared as a hologram in the middle of the hatch. "Gypsy Company, your task is to destory the AA guns in the area so the Infinity can get a clear shot at the gravity well, and we can all go home."

"What's recon's asessment of the terrain?" the Master Chief asked, shifting his assault rifle in his hands.

Del Rio looked over at him, annoyance obvious on his face. "I know you've been off the field for a while now, Master Chief, but this is a blow-through op. Running recon would just slow us down!" He turned back to the rest of the occupants of the Pelican. "You clear the skies, and Infinity will take out the gravity well. Good luck, Gypsy. Del Rio out."

"I don't know about you, but I like a little more intel with my intel," a female voice quipped. Anakin assumed that it was Cortana, Chief's legendary AI.

The back hatch opened with a loud groan, and everyone stood up and made their way to the exit. Anakin was one of the first out, and jumped, landing on the dusty ground. He grunted as he felt the pain shoot up his leg, but it wore off after a few seconds.

Mace soon joined him on the ground. "Have you ever see a Mammoth before?" he asked, pulling his helmet on as they started walking.  
"No," Anakin answered. "I assume that they live up to their name?"

"Yeah." I honestly don't think that there's a larger ground vehicle around."

"Have you ever seen an Imperial AT-AT?" Anakin asked. "Those were really tall. Turns out giving them legs instead of repulsor lifts wasn't a good idea."  
Mace shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but find time to tell me later."

Anakin smirked. "It's really not an interesting story. I was so close to catching Solo, it wasn't funny."

Once again Mace shrugged. "Once we're on our way home, fill me in on what the hell you're talking about."

Then, the Mammoth came into sight. Anakin let out a low whistle. "Damn, that's huge. You think they're comensating for something?"

Mace shook his head sadly. "We're moving out in two minutes, so get your ass onboard."

\-------------------------------------------

To Office of Naval Intelligence Director Pamela Amelai  
At ONI Research Base 51  
Concerning Three Extraterristrial Captives  
Dear Director,

The aliens we have captured are not any of the known Covenant speices. Both speices are fully sentient, and perhaps even smarter than humans. The other captive, the human that used supernatural powers, he seems angered that we're keeping him here, and is constantly asking about someone name Juno. We will investigate this matter further when he will cooperate with us.

The first alien, the one that we believe to be the female of the species, based off of her similarity to female humans, is fully willing to cooperate. She somehow knows English, even though she calls is Basic, and seems to be caring toward others. This was shown when Greene broke his arm when he fell. She helped to set the bone, and even kept an eye on him for a few weeks afterward.

The last alien, who is male based off of the female reffering to him as such. We don't think that the two are part of the same species. He shows signs of great wisedom, and has offered advice to several agents, which really helped them with their problems. He too seems rather cooperative, and we think he's a pacifist, as he has choosen the peaceful way out of several situations.

The one thing that all three had in common, their weapons. Even the one we think is a pacifist carried one. They are swords with blades made out of laser beams. Such technology is not in use by the UNSC, and perhaps we could mimic this tech for use by ONI forces. 

The supernatural powers of the beings is completely beyond our comprehension. They are able to move objects around with their minds, and have even been able to control several agents' minds with a simple flick of their hands. We have asked them to teach us the way to do this, but none ever responded to that.  
This is some of the progress we've made since we sent the basic descriptions of them to you last week. We intend to work on their weapon tech, and will keep you posted.

-ONI Agent T. White.


	7. Prelude to Battle

New York City, Earth

October 24, 2557

"Now, as you all know," the announcer said, pacing back and forth across the wooden stage, "our dear Admiral Terrence Hood has stepped down as Fleet Admiral." There was a mixed response from the crowd, some cheering, while other showed signs of sadness.

"However," he went on, "We have a new leader. One that's focused on advancement of the human race. To allow humanity to be able to crush the Covenant, to allow us to be the supreme species, and to expand our empire to reaches far beyond what we once had!"

That through most of the crowd into a roar of cheering. There were a few amongst them who didn't understand why every speices just couldn't be friends. Of course, they kept this to themselves so the didn't get mauled by the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the annoucer stepped off to the side, "I am proud to introduce Fleet Master Tyrannus!"

Count Dooku walked on stage, flanked by four Spartan IVs. On top of the stage, a female Spartan II stood with an SRS in her hands. The crowd's cheering grew louder. He tapped the microphone on the stand, and hearing the slight feedback was satisfied that it worked.

"I'm glad to be here today," Dooku said, clasping his arms behind his back. The uproar died down as he spoke, people eager to listen to him. "Although I never expected to be this popular."

There was some slight laughter in the crowd, mainly coming from the drunks.

"I am honored to be in this position," he continued, "and I will do my best to lead the UNSC as well has Lord Hood has done in the past. Even though he defeated the Covenant, the Storm Covenant, the splinter faction of Loyalists, still remain a threat. Peace talks will be held, but if there can be no peace, then there will be another large scale war."

Most of the cheers died down, people reminded of the hell the saw during the first war. Some offical report claimed that, in 2525, the human population on Earth was reaching up to fifty billion, and in 2553, was down to two-hundred thousand. But, at the end of the war, tons of people celebrated, and tons of people got laid. That, along with the UNSC using DNA samples from dead soldiers to clone them, the population was recovering.

"However," Dooku went on, "if such a war were to arise, by that time, the UNSC will be ready. In a little less than five years, we managed to rebuilding most of Earth, along with some parts of other colonies."

The UNSC had managed to do this feat with the help of several eager civilians. Most of the cities had been rebuilt, and immigrants from other plants came to assist with the reconstruction of the home plant. Large parts of Africa were still glassed, which gave scientists some areas to work on methods to return glassed plains to their original state.

"Judging by what we accomplished in four years, in two years time, we should be able to resurrect the might UNSC fleet, with the legendary Infinity at the head of it," Dooku said. The crowd erupted again. When the died down a few seconds later, he continued, "Humanity will be the giants! The Covenant will fear us! We will be unstoppable!"

There was a thunderous applause. Hats thrown into the air, people sounding off their concealed firearms into the air, which made the security Spartans tense.

"This is how democracy dies," Obi-Wan muttered, watching the scene from the roof top of a nearby building. "With a thunderous applause."

Then, a wave of feeling hit him. He was sensing the dark side of the Force. "Do you feel that?" he asked Mundi and Luminara.

They both nodded. "It seems...familiar," Mundi noted. He had some hard time speaking with his mandibles, but after a year and a half, the others had adapted to it. Currently, he was curled into a small ball, trying to watch without being spotted. It was hard to be a Sangheili on a human planet.

Obi-Wan had recognized it instantly. He felt sick in the stomach, remembering the last time he had seen the Sith he sensed. "There's two Sith down there now," he told them. "This might be more challenging than we thought."

"Yes, however..." Mundi stood up to his full height. As he did, Obi-Wan felt it. Another Force-sensitive presense, this one tottering on the edge of dark and light, as if trying to decide where it's loyalites lay. Either way, it was incredibly strong.

Two triple burst from BR85s tore Obi-Wan from his focus. Two Spartan IVs had infiltrated their rooftop, with out being sensed by any of the Jedi. There was some dark presense surrouding their minds, blocking them from being sensed.

Obi-Wan realized this, but it was too late. Mundi and Luminara lay on the ground, blood pooling under their bodies from the perfect headshots.

"You murdered them!" Obi-Wan shouted, his mind unable to think anything else. "Do you know what you've just done?"

"Yes," one said as she walked over and grabbed him by the arm. The other did the same, and they proceeded to drag him down the stairs of the building and to the ground level. "We're apprehinding a traitor."

Obi-Wan didn't both with struggling. He sensed a twinge of darkness in them, along with the shadows that clogged their heads. They were slaves to the dark side.

Everything will happen as I want it...

the Force told him, echoing in his mind. _But now you must face your hardest challenge. You must deal the killing blow this time, unlike you did the last time..._

He turned his face from the crowd as the Spartans dragged him through it, pushing civilians aside every few feet. There was murmuring, but Obi-Wan didn't hear most of it. He was too busy focusing on what he was about to face.

"Here, Lord Tyrannus," one Spartan said, tossing Obi-Wan at his feet. "We found him with an Elite and Jackal. They were planning to assassinate you."

Standing up, Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, that did cross my mind, Dooku."

"Kenobi," Dooku said, shaking his head sadly. "I would've expected more from you. Three Jedi overpowered by two Spartans? That's impressive."

Obi-Wan's mind racked for a witty retort, but he caught sight of the figure taking the stage. He was cloaked in a heavy black cloak, hiding his identity. But, Obi-Wan knew exactly who it was.

The crowded wasn't even responding anymore, their minds dumbed the dark side. They too, were the dark side's puppets. Somehow, either Dooku or the other Sith had gained much new powers.

Obi-Wan and the newcomer locked eyes. "It's been a while, Darth."

The man removed his hood, and revealed shoulder length brown hair, with yellow eyes, with scars on different locations on his face. His right arm was covered in a black glove, which hid the golden cybernetic arm underneath. "Indeed it has, Obi-Wan," Darth Vader replied.


	8. A Battle of Mammoth Preportions

To Office of Naval Intelligence Director Pamela Amelai

At ONI Research Base 51

Concerning Three Extraterristrial Captives

Dear Director,

It seems as if one of our extraterrestriail guests has escaped from our research station, as hard as that is to admit. Several teams have been sent out to locate him, but nothing has been recovered so far.

We'll keep you updated.

-ONI Agent T. White

 

Requiem,

October 24, 2557

 

Anakin followed Mace into the vehicle bay of the Mammoth, where two Warthogs were latched to the roof, waiting to be operated. Several other Marines were casually chatting here and there, and the Master Chief calmly walked up the metal stairs to meet with Lasky.

The Mammoth had been waiting for several minutes for the start of the op, which never seemed to come. Marines were starting to complain, some even going as far as claiming that they were going to hijack the Mammoth and do it themselves. Sad thing was, they'd been waiting for only ten minutes.

"Get up to the top," Mace ordered Anakin, as the ex-Knight ran his fingers across the weapons in a crate, before selecting a BR85. "We're providing sniper cover."

As Anakin led the way, he glanced back at Mace. "Should I have brought this?" he asked, pointing to his lightsaber, which hung on his belt. "I might need it."

Mace rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just don't let some Marine get his hands on it. That won't go over well with command."

Anakin decided it was time to voice the one problem that had been bothering him. "Back when you said the light side gave us a new life, you also said that the dark side could give Sith a new life. What did you say about turned Jedi?"

"Well," Mace looked around as they reached the top platform of the Mammoth. No one was in hearing distance, so they were in the clear. "I once heard that when they turn, the light side of them dies, and that might mean that that part gets a new life, and when the dark side dies, they'd get a new life as well." He looked over at Anakin. "Why are you so pale?"

Three Pelicans flew ahead of them, trying to lock onto the first AA gun that prevent the Infinity from passing through the area. "Pelican 766, lose some altitude," Commander Palmer ordered. "Your inside the kill box."

"Hold on," the pilot said. "I've almost got target lock."

"Lose some altitude," Palmer ordered again.

"Almost there," the pilot muttered, just a little more..." The gun fired a giant orange laser, obliterating two Pelicans, while 766 spun in and hit the ground not far away. The last words of the pilot reminded Anakin of the Rebel pilot that he heard on the Death Star after the engineers hacked the comms.

"Why are you so pale? Something wrong?" Mace asked again, as the commotion died down. Lasky said that they had to recover the targer designator to take out the gun.

Anakin shook his head. "It's nothing." He shouldered his rifle, and the Mammoth began to move. The Master Chief ran past them, and grabbed a jet pack from a rack. Anakin could feel the Spartan's emotions, and felt a mix of fear, hope, confidence, hopelessness, excitement, and pain.

"Your emotions are askew," Anakin told the Spartan, walking over to him. Mace stood his distance, watching the encounter. "Your thoughts must be hell."

"They are," Chief replied, walking past him again. The Spartan had apparently decided to end the conversation.

Anakin closed his eyes, and focused. "You feel pain. You're afraid of losing someone..." Chief looked back at him, trying to figure out what was going on. "Someone you love..." The Spartan's fist tightened on his Assault Rifle. "...your AI is corrupt, and you want to get back to Earth to fix her," Anakin said, opening his eyes.

"How'd you know?" Chief asked plainly, somehow playing off the fact that this random Marine had just practically read his thoughts.

"Your own feelings betrayed you," he asnwered simply. "A very wise person once said that you must learn to let go. You'll have to let her go when the time comes."

Chief shook his head. "I don't know how you know what you know, but you need to know that I'm not letting her go that easily."

"You'll have to," Anakin said. "Without doing so, you can never be free."

The Spartan remained unmoving, staring down at Anakin. "I can save her," he said. "I _will_ save her. Whatever the cost."

"I once had the same attitude," Anakin admitted. "All I wanted to do was protect her from death, and I let myself get led to the wrong side." He sighed. "I was the cause of her death. Chief, take my words into consideration. You must learn to let go."

Chief didn't respond, instead turning and walking away.

"You'll have to learn to let go," Anakin said. "Attachment leads to jealousy. Jealousy leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side." He surprised himself with that. Not only did he remember what Yoda had said to him years earlier, he mentioned the dark side to someone non-Jedi. They must've thought he was crazy.

"It's my duty to protect her," Chief said, not looking back. "I'm not going to let her go. Not yet."

"Then you'll never be truely free," Anakin muttered, as the Spartan walked away. He shifted his rifle in his hands, and went back to Mace.

Mace was loading new rounds into a clip, with his weapon propped up against the wall next to him. "Skywalker, what you told him was true. Spoken like a true Jedi."

Anakin gave a slight smile, and leaned against the wall alongside Mace. "Thanks."

Releasing a heavy sigh, Mace picked up his weapon. "But, the Jedi are dead. Non-exsistant in this world. We're freaks of nature to them, no better than the Spartans. Maybe you need to let go of the Jedi way. Just become human."

Blinking, Anakin looked over at him. "Why? I've spent so long being a Sith, it's nice to be back to normal"

Mace chuckled. "You call this normal? Getting stuck in some strange new life? Forced to adapt to ways that are completely alien to you?"

"Okay, never mind."

"Like I said, the Jedi are dead. Any others that came through like us most likely were killed in the war, or are captives of ONI because of their powers," Mace explained. "The Jedi's days are up."

"Is that what you did?" Anakin asked. "Just abandoned the Order because none else was left alive or here? What about Obi-Wan? Luminara? Ki-Adi-Mundi? Do they think the same way?"

Mace shook his head. "No, but they haven't come to accept the reality. The Jedi Order means nothing here. They don't need peacemakers, all the people here do is wage war. Jedi wouldn't have a purpose."

There was a frag grenade sitting on weapon rack nearby. Anakin lifted it with the Force, not even moving a muscle, through pure thought. He moved it over to them, where it began to orbit Mace like the Moon. "Who's to say that we won't have a purpose?" he asked, and Mace snatched the grenade out of the air. "We're not like them. We're more powerful."

"You're point?" Mace asked, aiming down the scope of his rifle.

"My point is-"

"Covenant, hunkering down on the left!" Lasky shouted over the comms. Marines ran over to the right side of the Mammoth, preparing their weapons. Chief manned the rocket turrent mounted above the small little alcove that Mace and Anakin occupied.

Mace propped his sniper rifle up on the edge, on hand on the grip with his finger ready to pull the trigger, his other hand on the bolt, ready to eject spent rounds at a high speed. "Time to earn our pay."

Anakin hesistantly looked down at his rifle, and slowly put it on his back. He could feel the Marine's emotions. Fear, anxiety, excitement, and anger were the most common ones. Mace somehow blocked his thoughts from him, preventing Anakin from reading his true feelings.

A beam shot out from behind a rock, piercing a Marine's shoulder. Screaming, the man staggered from the force of impact, falling right off the edge of the Mammoth. His friends cried out his name as he hit the ground, and an Elite pumped him full of plasma to be sure he was dead.

The Marines retailiated, unleashing a large wave of bullets onto the aliens below. Mace fired off all four shots in rapid succession, each bullet a dead-on headshot. Rockets from the Chief's turrent wiped out a whole squad of Grunts.

"Shoot Marine!" someone to Anakin's left shouted. The Sergeant was weilding an Assault Rifle, firing down on the Covenant. "What are you wait for? Shoot 'em!"

Anakin shrugged, and folded his arms, watching the engagment. Aliens dropped like flies, with only two Marines going down in the fight. The last Grunt alive was running for cover, when a round from Mace's SRS blew its head clean off.

There was silence on the Mammoth for a seconds, and then Marines walked back to whatever it was they were doing, with some mourning their fallen comerades.

"What the hell was that?" the Sergeant demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Anakin. "I gave you a direct order, and you disobeyed it."

"So? The aliens are all dead," Anakin argued. "What does it matter?"

"I outrank you," the Sergeant continued. "You should be respectful."

"In my book, experience outranks everything," Anakin retorted, using a line from the long-dead Captian Rex.

"You calling me inexperienced, you son of a bitch?" the Sergeant asked, folding his arms.

Anakin sighed. This guy was driving him crazy. "No, I'm just saying that if you want me to respect you, then get some more."

The Sergeant was pissed. He growled in rage, and threw a punch, catching Anakin on the cheek. The Jedi fell to the metal floor, hand on the impact site. "That's for insubordination."

Biting his lip, Anakin had to focus. He could feeling something coming onto him that he didn't want. Anger. Anger would lead him back to the dark side. Wordlessly, he pushed himself back up to his feet. Casting one glance back at the Sergeant, he turned and walked away.

"I can have you court-martialled!" the Sergeant shouted after him.

Unable to contain it anymore, Anakin turned on heel, and glared at the Sergeant, using the same omnious face that he'd had when he was Darth Vader. "I can kill you." Fortunately, he was able to restrain it, and turned back.

He went to the front of the Mammoth, and stood there, watching the desert terrian pass under the behemoth of a vehicle. Taking the rifle off his back, he ejected the clip, letting it fall to the ground far below. Then he released his grip on the BR85, letting it join the clip on the dusty ground far below.

Jedi were not warmongers.

"Skywalker." Mace walked over next to him, remaining silent. "I'm surprised that you managed to keep your cool." Once again, Mace went back into his silence. "You really are trying to be a diligent Jedi, aren't you?"

"It was what I always wanted to so," Anakin said. "Ever since I was a slave on Tatooine. I heard stories of Jedi, and that was how I planned to free me and my mother." He sighed, kicking a small rock that had somehow managed to find its way onto the Mammoth off the edge. "But, when I actually did become a Jedi, it was a lot different than I thought."

"I know," Mace replied. "I honestly didn't think that you were up to it. After all, you were a little rebellious. The elders found you disrespectful because you chose to wear darker robes, rather than the traditional tan."

Anakin smiled lightly, remembering the good old days. "Yeah, Obi-Wan never really got onto me much about that." He removed his helmet, and tossed it into the air, using the Force to let it float and move around. "So, after we get off this metal planet, we can go to Earth, where Obi-Wan is?"

Mace nodded. "Yeah, he and Mundi and Luminara are camped out in New York. Mundi's a ambassador to the UNSC from the Sangheili, so that's brought up some conflict to the neighborhood."

Anakin shrugged, and went back to his thoughts on the dark side and the light side. "Master Windu?" he asked, looking over. "I just thought of something. Something horrible."

"What now?"

"The dark side. It moves in mysterious ways, like the light side. What if it made itself a contingency plan incase the light side ever won over it?"

Mace stroked his stubble. "What are you getting at?"

Anakin's helmet fell to the ground, and was crushed under a heavy tire. "If the dark side can send Sith here, couldn't it send itself here? And it could get here before the light side, meaning it would have time to prepare a defense, and perhaps even lock it out."

"Where would you get an idea like that?" Mace asked. But, there was a hint of worry in his voice.

"I know a lot about the dark side," Anakin said, head down. "All it wants is power. Conservation would be a main goal of it."

Mace nodded. "I think I see it now. The prophecy..."

Anakin blinked. "The prophecy of the Chosen One? I already fulfilled that."

"What is it? It's to bring balance to the Force," Mace explained. "In our old world, there was dark and light all the time, meaning balance. But when you fulfilled it, if you're right, you let light take over, leading to unbalance..."

"...I see what you getting at," Anakin acknowledged. "Since there'd only be dark here..."

"You'd have to bring the light side here to truely bring balance," Mace finished. "You never really fulfilled the prophecy."

Anakin released his breath. "God, I hope were wrong," he said. "I hate it when we're right."

 

New York City, Earth

October 24, 2557

 

Obi-Wan stood opposite of the Sith, hand twitching to his concealed lightsaber. "You can't win, Darth," he said, using some old dialouge.

"I've heard that one before," Vader retorted, lashing his hand out. Obi-Wan was lifted into the air, clutching his throat. "Let me guess, you will become more powerful if I strike you down?"

He flung Obi-Wan into the mesmerized crowd. None responded as he landed in the middle of them. Vader walked down the stage stairs, his robes flowing behind him. "This time, you won't be able to escape the dark side." In his hand, he pulled out a silver cylanderical object. With a hiss, a blood red blade extended from it.

Obi-Wan reached for his own saber, but Vader vanished into a shadow, his cloak falling to the ground at where he stood. He reappeared in front of Obi-Wan, and raised the blade to strike. He brought it down.

Obi-Wan rolled back, narrowly avoiding the blade. His activated his own blade, raising it into a defensive postion. "I beat you once. I can do it again."

"No, no you can't," Vader replied. "You will never be able to kill you old Padawan. You've grown too attached to him. And he grew too attached to Padme. You can't harm me."

Growling, Obi-Wan knew he was right. He had to overcome that. "You're the one who's wrong, Vader," he snarled. "I've overcome that. I can kill you."

Smirking, Vader swung at Obi-Wan, but the Master easily blocked it. As the sabers clashed, sparks rose from the intersection. Obi-Wan felt that third presense again. It felt like a circle of gray light in a field of black, coming towards the white circle and the pitch-black circle.

"I doubt that," Vader said. "You're emotions betray you." With one thrust forward, Vader knocked Obi-Wan onto his back, and with one swing knocked his lightsaber from his hand. The red bladed was angled toward Kenobi's head. "You will never be as powerful as me, Master." He said that last part sarcastically.

The hum of a lightsaber passed over head as a blue of blue light slammed into Vader's saber, moving it away from Obi-Wan. A blast of Force sent Vader skidding back several yards.

Obi-Wan looked up, and saw a human with short black hair, wearing some sort of drab gray jumpsuit. The man reached out and retrieved his saber through the Force, and offered Obi-Wan a hand to help him up.

"Galen Marek," Vader hissed seeing the sight. "I have score to settle with you." He began storming at them as Obi-Wan stood up.

"Now would be a good time to leave," Galen said, readying his lightsaber. "I have a Pelican landed around the block," he explained. "Get to it and pick me up. I'll hold him off."

Obi-Wan nodded, and began jogging to the block. He heard a second hiss, and saw that Galen had retrieved his fallen lightsaber and was using it alongside his own.

The streets were abandoned, and there was a shadowy fog in the air. It felt like a dark energy, obviously an invent of the dark side.

He kept pace up, and seconds later, a Pelican came into view. The back hatch was open, allowing Obi-Wan access. He climbed into the cockpit, and due to Anakin's teachings of how to fly, he was able to figure out the controls.

The Pelican lifted up, and slowly flew toward where Galen and Vader were dueling. Flashed of red and blue could be seen from a distance, and then there was a giant wave of blue lightning.

He was overhead them when Galen jumped into the back hatch, and ran into the cockpit. "Get us out of here!" he ordered. Obi-Wan gunned the engines, and they were off.

"So," Obi-Wan started when they had put some distance between them and Vader. "You are...?"

"Galen Marek," he replied, handing Obi-Wan his lightsaber. "I just escaped from an ONI facility. Two other Jedi were there."

Obi-Wan nodded. "And you're a Jedi? I got mixed readings when I sensed you."

Galen shrugged, attaching his lightsaber to his belt. "Jedi, although I was raised Sith." He sighed, sitting in the copilot's seat. "I was trained under Vader, you know, when he had that suit and all."

Raising his eyebrows, Obi-Wan looked out the canopy. "I never heard that he had an apprentice." He put his lightsaber into his jacket pocket. "There's only two Sith. The Master and the Apprentice. So what did that make you?"

"The secret Apprentice," Galen replied. "I was trained in secret to be an assassin. Vader wanted me to help him overthrow the Emporer. But, when the Emporer found out about me, Vader didn't hesistate to kill me."

Nodding, Obi-Wan steered the Pelican away from the tall skyscrapers. "And you ended up here?"

Galen shook his head. "No, I survived his first attempt. I woke up on a ship, or was it a space station? Anyway...it turns out that Vader had only shoved me out into space as show, and wanted me alive. So, I was brought to the place, and fixed up. But, I was mad at Vader because he didn't take the chance to kill the Emporer when we had it. So, I saved Juno and sent the ship into a star as I left."

"I see," Obi-Wan said. "And then?"

"I went to Bespin to find Kota, a Jedi Vader had me kill. I found out that he survived, and blinded. At first, I thought he didn't recognize me, but later, I found out he knew it was me the entire time. He helped found the Rebellion, and was taken hostage by Vader and taken to the Death Star, with Juno and others."

Galen sighed. "I went after them. In the end, I faced Vader and badly wounded him. I had the chance to give into hate and kill him, but I faced the Emperor instead."

Obi-Wan's eyes widend. "You faced the Emperor? Let me guess, that what killed you."

Shaking his head, Galen continued. "I was whooping up on him, and I honestly thought that I would kill him. Then, my friends were threated, and I gave my life to save them. That's how I ended up here."

"Heh, my story isn't even half that good," Obi-Wan admitted. "I was a Jedi in the Clone Wars, and then survived Order 66, and went into exile. When Luke, Vader's son, was ready to learn of the Force, I took him in, and then gave my life on the Death Star as well. That's about it, other than the fact that it took the Force a couple of years to offer me a new life."

Galen nodded. "Vader had a son? That's a shocker." He smiled, rested his head in his hands. "I'll guide you to the ONI space station where the other two are being held, and we'll get them out."

"Who are they?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We never really gave out names, even though we were in there for a few months," he said. "Maybe you'll recognize them."

"Maybe I will," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe I will."


End file.
